Bill Fitzhenry's Thoughts For Today…

Reading through the 31 chapters of Proverbs each month can give us an understanding of how to serve God.

Proverbs 29:1; 1:23 NKJV

Proverbs 29

¹ He who is often rebuked, and hardens his neck,
Will suddenly be destroyed, and that without remedy.

Proverbs 1

²³ Turn at my rebuke;
Surely I will pour out my spirit on you;
I will make my words known to you. .

Proverbs 1:23 is God’s promise to a wise response to being reproved. Chapter 29:1 is the description of one who does not respond and to the result of his failure.

The reproof spoken of is not “one and done.” They cynic’s view of God waiting around the corner to cut off the head of any who fails to obey a single admonition is not the truth of the Scriptures. Proverbs correctly identifies the guilty one as being “often reproved.” The first fact given in the description is that this offense is habitual in his criminal behavior.

The second part of the description gives insight into his motive. He is stubborn. This trait can be either inherited or acquired. We are not told how he comes by this. Either way it is equally destructive because it is always foolish.

The third point of interest is the destruction with its guarantee and to what extent. The ESV describes it as “broken beyond healing.”

Two matters about this verse to remember:

A. Virtues and faults are stated in absolute terms. We will observe different degree of application.

B. The picture of offender and destruction is that which is experienced in this world. There are many steps between the first reproof and solitary confinement in a state prison. But unrepentant stubbornness makes the solitary cell much more probable.

Bill Fitzhenry's Thoughts For Today…

Reading through the 31 chapters of Proverbs each month can give us an understanding of how to serve God.

Proverbs 28: 1, 4, 12, 15, 28 ESV

Proverbs 28

¹ The wicked flee when no one pursues,
but the righteous are bold as a lion.

⁴Those who forsake the law praise the wicked,
but those who keep the law strive against them.

¹²When the righteous triumph, there is great glory,
but when the wicked rise, people hide themselves.

¹⁵Like a roaring lion or a charging bear
is a wicked ruler over a poor people.

²⁸When the wicked rise, people hide themselves,
but when they perish, the righteous increase.

Wicked: morally wrong, an actively bad person, condemned, guilty, ungodly Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance

In chapter 28, the writer gives us five views of the wicked person. Each one fits the definition above.

Proverbs 28:1 – The conscience of the wicked is active. He is self condemned and he always faces unwanted detection with its accompanying punishment.

Proverbs 28:4 – The activity of the wicked is antithetical to the Law and he is recognized for his deeds. His praise and companions will come from those like him.

Proverbs 28:12 – The triumph of the wicked is at the expense of the righteousness. The triumph of the righteous in the same token will be to God’s glory and the wicked’s loss.

Proverbs 28:15 The success of the wicked bodes ill for the poor. The poor are the weak. The wicked take advantage of those who are easiest to overcome. The illustrations of this in our time are too numerous to need stating.

Proverbs 28:28 – The success and the failure of the wicked will directly affect the righteous. This world is one of integration. There are no communes to separate and live apart from the world. Therefore the wheat and the tares grow together.

How can this somewhat comprehensive view of the wicked be applied?

1. The wise person knows to never trust the wicked.

2. No matter what his protestations may be, the wicked man never has the best interest of the poor at heart.

3. The opposition of the righteous toward the conduct of the wicked is a Divine requirement.

And as sure there is a woe to the wicked it will be well for the righteous.

Bill Fitzhenry's Thoughts For Today…

Reading through the 31 chapters of Proverbs each month can give us an understanding of how to serve God.

Proverbs 26:11; II Peter 2:1-22 ESV

Proverbs 26

¹¹Like a dog that returns to his vomit
is a fool who repeats his folly.

Proverbs 26:11 states the principle that as the dog acts according to its nature, so the fool will act the part of a fool because that is his nature. There is no self-improvement for a fool. Folly is his history; folly is to be expected from him today and for the future.

This same principle of the primacy of nature is used by Peter to illustrate the useless practice, content, and result of those who preach a false gospel. (II Peter 2:22) “And many will follow their sensuality, and because of them the way of truth will be blasphemed.”

In II Peter 2:18 “they entice by sensual passions of the flesh”. A fair reading reveals that their foolish message and methods have no spiritual content. They entice natural appetites but never convict the nature by the Spirit.

II Peter 2:19 continues the revelation of the false teacher’s false gospel by stating what has begun as sensual enticement is completed with a lying promise. ¹⁹They promise them freedom, but they themselves are slaves of corruption. For whatever overcomes a person, to that he is enslaved. But how is this practiced today? When it is communicated that the Gospel is aided by or it is by extension necessary to have rock concerts, rodeos, circuses, Easter Egg hunts, basketball courts or any natural or sensual enticement folly is the source and vain is it’s result.

To have a gospel that is motivated by sensuality is to have a message that is wedded to the methods used to promote it. And thus - to have a message that is no better than the methods that support it.

The fruit of this practice will always, as the dog or sow, return to it nature.

Bill Fitzhenry's Thoughts For Today…

Reading through the 31 chapters of Proverbs each month can give us an understanding of how to serve God.

Proverbs 25:11-14 ESV

Proverbs 25

¹¹ A word fitly spoken
is like apples of gold in a setting of silver.
¹²Like a gold ring or an ornament of gold
is a wise reprover to a listening ear.
¹³Like the cold of snow in the time of harvest
is a faithful messenger to those who send him;
he refreshes the soul of his masters.
¹⁴Like clouds and wind without rain
is a man who boasts of a gift he does not give.

The danger of and the right use of speech are a continual concern for the author of Proverbs. Speech is first mentioned in chapter 1:11, and last mentioned in chapter 31:26.

In verses 11-14, the major concern is words which are beneficial. But there is a vivid contrast of worthless speech.

Chapter 25:11 describes the words which are spoken. “Good words” are those spoken at the right time in the right way with wise content. These “good words” have both value and beauty. Chapter 25:12 gives the speech as that of a “wise reprover”. But the emphasis is on the “listening ear”. Just as the speaker is responsible for his words so the hearer is responsible to hear and profit from them.

Chapter 25:13 approaches the same subject, “good words”, and “wise reproof” from the responsibility of the origin of the message. The message has a sender (Romans 10:15). And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, "How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!" The speech that is a valuable gift from one and received as such by the other, commends this messenger as worthwhile for his senders.

Chapter 25:14 is the sharp contrast of one who is certain to disappoint sender and hearer. He is like the empty clouds. He brings a false hope that cannot profit. (Matthew 23:15) Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you travel across sea and land to make a single proselyte, and when he becomes a proselyte, you make him twice as much a child of hell as yourselves.

Bill Fitzhenry's Thoughts For Today…

Reading through the 31 chapters of Proverbs each month can give us an understanding of how to serve God.

Proverbs 22:6 ESV

Proverbs 22

⁶ Train up a child in the way he should go;
even when he is old he will not depart from it.

This is one of the best known and most misunderstood of the Proverbs – both for what it does not say and what it does say

What it does not do is promise or guarantee conversion of a child who has Christian training, before he dies. Neither is it a proof-text for home-schooling.

What it does do is:

A. Emphasize the importance of childhood ethical and spiritual training on a person’s conduct.

B. Teach that ethical and spiritual conduct is influenced throughout life and the prevention of final apostasy is ordinarily the result of childhood training.

C. The determination of conduct throughout life, “even” into old age is observable in childhood training.

D. Old age ordinarily is no time to expect something different from a lifetime of conduct.

Bill Fitzhenry's Thoughts For Today…

Reading through the 31 chapters of Proverbs each month can give us an understanding of how to serve God.

Proverbs 20:1; I Kings 20:13-16 ESV

Proverbs 20

¹ Wine is a mocker, strong drink a brawler,
and whoever is led astray by it is not wise.

I Kings 20

¹³And behold, a prophet came near to Ahab king of Israel and said, "Thus says the LORD, Have you seen all this great multitude? Behold, I will give it into your hand this day, and you shall know that I am the LORD."

¹⁴And Ahab said, "By whom?" He said, "Thus says the LORD, By the servants of the governors of the districts." Then he said, "Who shall begin the battle?" He answered, "You."

¹⁵Then he mustered the servants of the governors of the districts, and they were 232. And after them he mustered all the people of Israel, seven thousand.

¹⁶And they went out at noon, while Ben-hadad was drinking himself drunk in the booths, he and the thirty-two kings who helped him.

In the instance of Proverbs 20:1 there are a number of questions that need an answer before the writer’s intent can be determined.

A. Why does he use personification?

B. Is 20:1A a synonymous parallel?

C. Are the beverages of 20:1A the same or are they of different categories? This will depend on question B.

D. What is it to be deceived as it is stated in 21:1B?

E. What is the antecedent of the pronoun “it” in 20:1B?

F. What is “wise” in 20:1B? We can answer this from the use of this term which we bring with us. To be either “wise” or “not wise” is to have or not have upright conduct in our public life.

Questions A. Personification is used to show the importance and the public character of the subject. Mockery and brawling are public acts.

Question B. Yes, the subjects are synonymous and therefore the same. “Strong drink” is a description of wine in comparison to other ordinary drinks.

Question C. Answered in B.

Question D. To be deceived, the person who drinks must think that the place, the amount, and the result of sinful indulgence is not important nor a testimony of an upright relationship with God.

Question E. The antecedent of “it” is the beverage in 20:1A. The singular of pronoun is another indicator of the one drink the writer is describing, “wine”, that is, “strong drink.”

A puritan - I don’t remember the name – commenting on I Timothy 5:23 said, “Nature needs little, grace none.”

5:23 (No longer drink only water, but use a little wine for the sake of your stomach and your frequent ailments.)

Habakkuk 2:15

¹⁵ Woe to him who makes his neighbors drink—
you pour out your wrath and make them drunk,
in order to gaze at their nakedness!

Bill Fitzhenry's Thoughts For Today…

Reading through the 31 chapters of Proverbs each month can give us an understanding of how to serve God.

Proverbs 19:3,11,19; 16:32; 20:22; Matthew 5:38-39 ESV

Proverbs 19 ³When a man’s folly brings his way to ruin, his heart rages against the LORD. ¹¹ Good sense makes one slow to anger, and it is his glory to overlook an offense. ¹⁹A man of great wrath will pay the penalty, for if you deliver him, you will only have to do it again.

Proverbs 16 ³² Whoever is slow to anger is better than the mighty, and he who rules his spirit than he who takes a city.

Proverbs 20 ²²Do not say, "I will repay evil"; wait for the LORD, and he will deliver you.

Matthew 5 ³⁸ "You have heard that it was said, 'An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.' ³⁹But I say to you, Do not resist the one who is evil. But if anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also.

The Scriptures give us the principles by which the particulars are determined. In Proverbs 19:3, the origin of man’s anger is identified. It begins with rage against God. As love for God must precede love for our neighbors, so anger at God precedes anger toward our neighbors.

In Proverbs 19:11 two important particulars are stated. One is the rule of the spirit identified in 16:32. The second is the commitment to non-retaliation, to “overlook an offense.”

Another particular is in the warning Proverbs 19:19 gives us. The rage previously stated will be repeated. When the wrathful person is excused, you can be sure it will happen again.

The Lord Jesus explains in Matthew 5:38-39, one of the centerpieces of a believers’ conduct. Retaliation, as a result of anger, is not an option. Faith in God must issue in the conviction and conduct that, “vengeance is mine, I will repay says the Lord” . The Lex Talonis is not in play for a Christian.

Bill Fitzhenry's Thoughts For Today…

Reading through the 31 chapters of Proverbs each month can give us an understanding of how to serve God.

Proverbs 18:1-2 ESV

¹Whoever isolates himself seeks his own desire;

he breaks out against all sound judgment.
²A fool takes no pleasure in understanding,
but only in expressing his opinion.

12:15

¹⁵ The way of a fool is right in his own eyes,
but a wise man listens to advice.

13:10

¹⁰ By insolence comes nothing but strife,
but with those who take advice is wisdom.

The writer of Proverbs has no patience with individualism. The proud, independent person who makes his own decisions is recognized as one who only seeks his own benefit. The work that he does according to the plans for life he has made “seek his own desire.”

The result is the life he lives. It is violently opposed to sound judgment as Proverbs 12:15 describes as, “right in his own eyes”. Chapter 13:10 takes one step further describing the fruit of this person, “nothing but strife”.

Why is this so? In 18:2 the explanation is given. First he is a fool who has found his pleasure in his own opinion and secondly when he has expressed his own opinion, though without understanding, he has fulfilled his “own desire”.

This is not to say a man such as Donald Trump never has anything worthwhile to say nor has ever done anything worthwhile. It is to say as in Proverbs 17:19, the end result of his plans will be strife and destruction.

¹⁹Whoever loves transgression loves strife;
he who makes his door high seeks destruction.

The Lord Jesus is plain about His requirement. We are to, “seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness”. Matthew 6:33

Proverbs 17:16;

¹⁶Why should a fool have money in his hand to buy wisdom
when he has no sense?

18:11

¹¹ A rich man’s wealth is his strong city,
and like a high wall in his imagination.

Bill Fitzhenry's Thoughts For Today…

“This Book of Proverbs is so called, because it consists of wise and weighty sentences: regulating the morals of men: and directing them to wisdom and virtue. And these sentences are also called PARABLES, because great truths are often couched in them under certain figures and similitudes.” quote

Reading through the 31 chapters of Proverbs each month can give us an understanding of how to serve God.

Proverbs 16:4, 9, 11, 33 ESV

⁴ The LORD has made everything for its purpose,
even the wicked for the day of trouble.

⁹ The heart of man plans his way,
but the LORD establishes his steps.

¹¹ A just balance and scales are the LORD’s;
all the weights in the bag are his work.

³³ The lot is cast into the lap,
but its every decision is from the LORD.

The writer, in Vs 4, confronts us with God’s purpose in His creation. It is inclusive, “The Lord has made everything.” The dark side is acknowledged by an “even” and is described by “the wicked”. There are different ways of translating, understanding, and defining “the wicked for the day of trouble.” However this is done does not change the fact of the absolute purpose of God. The writer has brought the reader of Proverbs to the fact of absolute predestination without the slightest inclination of an apology.

There are three reasons we must believe in absolute predestination:

1. God is creator, sustainer, and disposer of all things. This is a truth so often repeated that it needs no reference.

2. The attributes of God, as they are revealed in Scriptures, allow for no less than absolute predestination.

3. The Scriptures are so replete with statements of God’s sovereign purpose no less plain than Proverbs 16:4 that to fail to believe this is to fail to know the God of Scripture.

There are two particular places where those we must include under the mantle of Christians take serious offense with God’s sovereign all-inclusive purpose. One is “evil in the city”. They deny that God can in any way be the author of the bad things such as illness, disaster, cruelty, and anything that is personally destructive of or restricts personal freedom.

The other is a personal sovereign election. The rejection of this Scriptural truth as extension of absolute predestination takes us outside of a Sovereign God and leaves us with a sovereign man as the author of his relationship with God..

Romans 8:28-30 KJV

²⁸And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.

²⁹For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.

³⁰Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified.

What begins with “his purpose” in Vs 28 centers in “predestined” in Vs 29, and finishes with “called” or elected in Vs 30. When anything less is said about these verses (Romans 8:28-30) it is to fail to be truthful in either content or intent.

Bill Fitzhenry's Thoughts For Today…

“This Book of Proverbs is so called, because it consists of wise and weighty sentences: regulating the morals of men: and directing them to wisdom and virtue. And these sentences are also called PARABLES, because great truths are often couched in them under certain figures and similitudes.” quote

Reading through the 31 chapters of Proverbs each month can give us an understanding of how to serve God.

Proverbs 15:33

³³ The fear of the LORD is instruction in wisdom,
and humility comes before honor.

There is nothing in the Christian character so necessary and beautiful as humility. The writer of Proverbs places this character trait as necessary to a particular promotion. We are left with the following observation.

1. Humility is a priority to accomplish honor.

2. Honor is a result that has the particular priority of humility.

3. The most immediate concern is humility.

The Apostle Peter (I Peter 5:5-6) gives the same instruction as Proverbs. Humility is directed toward God, “under the mighty hand of God,” and the results follow from His hand, “that at the proper time He may exalt you.”

We are told to believe in, to receive, to obey, to follow Christ in many places in the Scriptures. But we are told only once to imitate Him, Philippians 2:5 “Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus”. In Philippians 2:2-8 the Apostle gives us a twofold and complete description of humility. The first is in verses 2:2-4, and is encapsulated in 2:3B, “in humility count others more significant than yourselves”.

The second is in the humility of Christ, caring nothing for Himself, but absolute obedience to God as His single interest, humbled Himself unto death. Then follows the certain results, “Therefore God highly exalted Him.”

“Before honor comes humility. Psalm 75:6-7 NKJV

⁶ For exaltation comes neither from the east
Nor from the west nor from the south.
⁷ But God is the Judge:
He puts down one,
And exalts another.